The Economist Atlas of the New Europe (Henry Holt Reference Book) - Hardcover

After more than 40 years of relative stability, the face of Europe has changed dramatically since 1989. With a dozen new nations struggling for survival and the economic unification of western Europe into a single market, the continent is in the midst of enormous upheaval. From Iceland to the Ukraine and from Turkey to Portugal, the purpose of The Economist Atlas of the New Europe is to present a comprehensive picture of the new image of the continent. In the case of this publication, the term atlas is misleading. While it relies on maps as illustrations, it is much more like an almanac or a statistical compilation, presenting economic, political, and social data in more than 400 tables and charts. Drawing from the vast data resources compiled by the Economist, this work uses text, graphics, and color photography to discuss a variety of issues related to Europe, including business, politics, communications, defense, and the environment. In addition, there is a statistical profile of each European nation as well as a chronology of European history.

One of the inherent problems of a work such as this is that the world continues to change even after publication. While this atlas does include the reunification of Germany, the 1992 single European market, and the breakups of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the splitting of Czechoslovakia into two states came after its publication date. However, despite the fact that world events will continue to change national borders, this work will be of great interest to anyone interested in current world affairs. High school, public, and academic libraries would all benefit by adding this attractive work to their collections.

Having trouble keeping up with all the changes in Europe? Here's help. In this atlas, readers get a volume composed of nine sections (e.g., history, business, finance), with each section ranging in length from two to four pages and featuring an overview, maps, charts, and tables. The atlas also contains two time charts and a country-analysis section offering statistics by country. The aim of this atlas is to depict the current borders of the European community and to show how the countries relate to one another economically. This current atlas covers topics that are frequently part of school assignments. If you don't like National Geographic 's design, then you won't like this volume's design, either; if you do, you will find it an attractive atlas, with good color reproductions. While numerous atlases reflecting the world's changed borders have been published in the last year, this is the only one to focus specifically on Europe from an economic standpoint. Appropriate for any reference department that is besieged with questions about how these countries look now.
- Mary L. Larsgaard, Univ. of California-Santa Barbara Map & Imagery Lab Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.